Pope Francis arrived in Iqaluit on Friday for the final leg of a historic tour that saw the pontiff express “deep shame and sorrow” and apologize for abuses committed by some members of the Roman Catholic Church.
The brief visit in Nunavut's capital marks the first time a pope has travelled to the territory. Francis was scheduled to meet with Inuit survivors of residential schools and their families at the Nakasuk Elementary School before taking part in a public cultural event.
The leader of the national organization representing Inuit people invited the Pope to visit the Inuit homeland during an Indigenous delegation to the Vatican earlier this year. Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said it could be a meaningful visit for Inuit, who experienced lasting pain and suffering but remain open to the possibility of true reconciliation.
Residential school survivors wearing ribbon skirts and an elder holding a feather were among the Indigenous delegation who had a 45-minute private audience with the Pope. “I do this so that progress may be made in the search for truth, so that the processes of healing and reconciliation may continue, and so that seeds of hope can keep being sown for future generations - Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike - who desire to live together, in harmony, as brothers and sisters.”
She said survivors used the meeting to share their pain and stories. One from her community in northern Quebec forgave the church for trespassing against the community, she said, while one nation insisted on how its ways, culture and language must be acknowledged and respected by the church.
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